Page 25 of The Bastard Heir (The Gilded West #2)

Chapter Eleven

C aroline spent the next morning in a daze.

Part of it was that she couldn’t stop reliving the night with Castillo.

She’d never imagined that such pleasure could be had with a man.

Between all the whispers and giggles of the women of her acquaintance, she’d assumed that it could be pleasant, but Castillo’s touch had been so much more than that.

And the connection between them went far deeper than pleasure.

He touched her and it felt like she was rediscovering a part of herself she’d lost, or maybe never even known about.

He looked into her eyes and saw who she was, not who he wanted her to be.

Nothing had changed overnight. She was still going back to Boston and he was still searching for Derringer, so her brooding was quite pointless, but she couldn’t seem to snap herself out of it.

Castillo and Hunter had already left when she came down for breakfast that morning.

Mr. Jameson had said they had some business in town to attend to, and she could only assume that meant Derringer.

In addition to brooding, that meant she was worrying about him, too.

That worry was a perfect reminder of why they’d never work out together. She’d end up hurt in the end.

“Caro?” Aunt Prudie stood in the doorway of the parlor, a frown on her face. “Are you all right?”

Caroline had been staring off into the cold fireplace, a book forgotten on her lap. “Yes, of course. Why do you ask?”

“You didn’t hear the bell? Your mother is arriving.”

The housekeeper had taken to ringing a bell located near the front door whenever new guests had been spotted coming down the long driveway.

Since the parlor was located just off the front hallway, Caroline should’ve heard it.

She would’ve heard it had she not been lost in thoughts of Castillo.

“Oh, I suppose I wasn’t paying attention. ”

“Is this about Castillo Jameson? When you said this morning that you’d both decided it best not to continue your flirtation, I wasn’t happy but agreed.

He doesn’t live in Boston, so I’m not certain how that would’ve turned out.

” Aunt Prudie walked over and put her hand on Caroline’s shoulder.

“But you seem sad, dear. Did he mean more to you than you let on?”

Lying to her aunt had been one of the hardest things she’d ever done.

When she answered she tried to stay as close to the truth as possible.

“He does mean something to me. It’s strange because I’ve only known him for such a short time, and yet I feel as if I do know him.

But I also know we don’t have a future.” She was coming to realize that what she felt for him was on the cusp of being so much deeper than she let on.

She feared that if she blinked she might fall right into those feelings… especially after last night.

Aunt Prudie clucked her tongue and cupped Caroline’s cheek. “I’m sorry, dear. I like him, too. I think sometimes we just have to have faith that everything works out as it’s meant to be.”

Caroline nodded, though she wasn’t entirely sure how she was supposed to find comfort in the fact that she and Castillo weren’t meant to be.

The front door opened and people could be heard coming inside.

It was probably for the best. She’d have spent the day moping and pretending to read if left to her own devices.

Placing her book on the table beside the chair, she plastered on a smile and followed Aunt Prudie into the foyer.

“Caroline!” Her mother squealed and rushed over to pull her into an embrace.

A familiar rose scent met her nose as Caroline hugged her.

When her mother pulled back, her smile was so radiant and full of love and happiness that Caroline immediately felt awful for the uncharitable thoughts she’d been having about her mother.

Perhaps after a chat they’d be able to come to an agreement about school.

Perhaps if she simply agreed to marry within the next year.

But even that compromise made her stomach churn.

“Hello, Mother, how was your trip?”

“Wonderful, darling. I can’t wait to tell you all the things we did in New York. The shopping was marvelous. I bought you some things and I’ll show you as soon as our bags are brought in.” Then she turned to Aunt Prudie. “Prudence, it’s lovely to see you.”

As her aunt and mother spoke, Mr. Jameson made his way into the foyer. Emmy was upstairs undergoing a final dress fitting, so probably wouldn’t be down for a while.

Isabelle, Hunter’s mother and Mr. Jameson’s estranged wife, swept in behind Caroline’s mother.

Her blond hair was streaked with strands of silver, swept up elegantly onto the crown of her head and topped with a black velvet hat that matched her traveling dress.

Caroline walked forward and greeted her.

The woman responded with a very cold and bland, “Good afternoon, Caroline. Lovely to see you.” Her gaze lit on Aunt Prudie before moving back to her estranged husband. “Wilhelmina!”

Willy stepped out of the shadow of the stairs where she’d stood unobtrusively observing the gathering. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Jameson. It’s good to have you back.”

“Have our bags unloaded and I’d like a bath immediately. The dust out here is insufferable.” Walking toward the stairs, she paused at her husband. “Where is my son?”

“Good to see you, Isabelle.” He smiled at her, glossing over her rudeness. “Hunter’s in town. An urgent business matter, but he should be home for supper.”

“I see you’ve yet to teach him any manners. I’ll be in my room until supper. Tell him I look forward to meeting his bride.” She didn’t wait for a reply as she swept up the stairs, saying a brisk word to Caroline’s father as she marched past him.

Mr. Jameson appeared to be unmoved by his wife’s demeanor. He kept a slight smile on his face as he called to her back, “I certainly will.”

Caroline sighed as she shared a knowing glance with Aunt Prudie.

She genuinely regretted that Emmy would have to endure such a woman for a mother-in-law, and thanked her stars that she’d only have to spend a few days in the woman’s presence.

She couldn’t understand how her mother could be friends with such a cold woman, but Kathleen Hartford was a social butterfly and had never had trouble making friends with anyone.

“Samuel!” Her mother held her arms out as she hurried to the foot of the stairs to greet her husband.

Caroline’s father smiled broadly and picked up his pace down the stairs until he pulled her into his arms. “Kathleen. I missed you.” The sight was so joyfully intimate that Caroline had to look away. She’d always hoped to have that in a marriage, but now she realized how naive she’d been.

“Hello, Miss Hartford.” The masculine voice came from the open front door.

Caroline turned to see a tall man step into the foyer.

He was lean, handsome in a cultured sort of way, with light brown hair and eyes, and he was vaguely familiar.

She searched her mind for some memory of him.

Perhaps they’d met at a function of some sort.

He smiled at her, and it was a very knowing smile. His gaze was direct and shrewd.

“Caroline.” Her mother’s voice drew her attention. The woman beamed at her as she crossed the foyer to stand next to her, Caroline’s father behind her.

He was smiling, obviously thrilled to have his wife in his arms, but when he saw the man standing in the doorway, the smile fell from his face. “Kathleen, we shouldn’t—”

Her mother turned and patted his cheek. “Nonsense, Samuel, now is perfect.” Then she turned back to the young man.

“Caroline, this is Grant Miller. Don’t you remember meeting him last year at the Christmas gala?

” Without even giving Caroline time to respond, she hurried on.

“I invited him to come out with us, and he said he’d never been to Helena and thought it sounded like a wonderful idea. ”

Caroline vaguely remembered the man from some event.

If she recalled correctly, his father had donated a generous amount to the hospital.

She didn’t know what that had to do with anything or why he’d want to come all the way to Helena for the wedding of someone he didn’t even know.

None of that made any sense. When she realized that no one was saying anything, Caroline cleared her throat and offered her hand.

“It’s nice to see you again, Mr. Miller.

” He took her hand and gave a very courtly little bow over it as he returned her greeting.

“Oh, Kathleen.” Aunt Prudie’s voice was so low, Caroline might’ve thought she’d imagined the words had her mother not acknowledged them with a wave of her hand and a shake of her head.

It caused the first crack in the mental barrier Caroline had somehow managed to keep in place this whole time, while her stomach churned on the knowledge that something was happening.

Even then, even with the proof of her mother’s deception standing there and staring her down, Caroline couldn’t quite bring herself to believe what was happening.

“I had a long talk with Grant’s parents back in Boston, and we’ve agreed that you both would make such a lovely couple.”

“Mother….” Caroline couldn’t quite get her mind around what she wanted to say. Her entire body went cold and prickly, and then she felt numb.

“Well, Mrs. Hartford.” The man smiled and dipped his head in the perfect semblance of modesty, but his eyes weren’t timid at all as they settled back on Caroline. “I think Caroline and I should get to know one another before we settle on calling us a lovely couple.”